Britain is planning to supply Starstreak anti-aircraft weapons and “a small consignment” of Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine as Russian forces close in on Kyiv to the east, the defence secretary has said.
The UK would also continue to supply NLAW short-range anti-tank weapons, Ben Wallace told the Commons, and has already given Ukraine 3,615 of the portable missile systems – nearly double the 2,000 figure previously disclosed.
Wallace said Ukraine had already received “900 man-portable anti-air missiles” – a reference to Stingers supplied by other Nato countries – but was desperately seeking more arms as Russian forces attempted to encircle Kyiv.
“The capability needs strengthening,” Wallace said. “So in response to Ukrainian requests, the government has taken a decision to explore the donation of Starstreak high-velocity man-portable anti-air missiles.”
Later, in response to questions from MPs as to how long the supply decision would take, Wallace said: “We are in principle going to do it.” He acknowledged Ukrainian soldiers would need to be trained in how to use the missiles. “How we are doing it [training] is sensitive,” he added.
Starstreak is the British army’s equivalent to the better known US-made Stinger ground-to-air missiles that have been supplied to Ukraine by the US, Germany and the Netherlands among others since the Russian invasion. They are laser-guided with a range of 7km (unlike Stingers, which rely on infrared) and are designed to be harder to jam.
Both Labour and the SNP urged Wallace to send the Starstreak and other missiles promptly. John Healey, Labour’s shadow defence secretary, called for the supply decision to be made “as quickly as possible”. A near identical plea followed from the SNP’s Stewart McDonald.
“This is only still week two,” Healey said. “Russia has such crushing firepower. Putin has such utter ruthlessness that we must expect more than one of his military objectives to be taken over the next few weeks.”
Wallace told MPs that “the estimated number of Ukrainian civilians killed or injured now stands at over 1,000” and that “the true figure is expected to be much higher”. British funding to Ukraine would increase to £220m, of which £120m would be humanitarian aid, the minister said.
People had been “without power and water for almost a week” in the south-eastern city of Mariupol, while unguided bombs had been dropped on Chernihiv, to the north-east of Kyiv, Wallace added. Russian forces were trying to encircle Kyiv, moving troops into the capital’s eastern Brovary suburb.
The minister was also pressed on if he would support Poland supplying its 28 MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, with the Conservative bankbencher John Baron asking whether such an agreement would not represent a dangerous escalation of western involvement against Russia. “A wider war would not serve the interests of any population,” the MP said.
In reply, Wallace said the decision was a matter for Poland, it was up to Warsaw to consider if it was a calibrated response to the crisis: “If the Polish government feels the security threat is so acute that it requires itself to do that, then I would fully understand their decision and stand by them.”
On Wednesday, an apparent deal to send the MiGs to Ukraine via the US collapsed when the Pentagon said: “We do not believe Poland’s proposal is a tenable one.” Poland had not wanted to send the jets directly for fear of provoking the Kremlin.
Discussions about a possible supply of the fighter jets continued, the US said, although Wallace said in an earlier answer to McDonald he was not directly involved in those talks.
